CIBC Fined In SEC's "Pay-To-Play" Investigation

Law360 (December 12, 2005, 12:00 AM EST) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission settled its probe into broker-dealer CIBC World Markets Corp. Monday, slapping the Canadian company with stiff fines to end its investigation into so-called “pay-to-play” violations related to a political campaign by former California governor Grey Davis.

The regulator had been looking into alleged violations of rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) after CIBC contributed $10,000 to former California Governor Gray Davis’s re-election campaign in 2002.

CIBC performed work for the State of California following the reelection, thus allegedly violating...